George waddington



dute states GEORGE WADDlNG-TON, OF LE ROY, ILLINOIS.'

Letters Patent No. 100,955, dated M11-rch 15, 1870.

COMBINED HEDG-E-TRIMMER AND MOWER The Schedule referred to in theseLetters Patent' and making part of the same.

To all whom'it may concern.-

Be it known that i, GEORGE WADDIxG'roN, of Le Roy, in the county 'of'McLean, and in the State of Illinois, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Hedge-Trimmers; and do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing making a part of thisspecification, in which* Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improvedmachine, andA .l

Figure 2 is a broken section of the devices for ad justiug verticallythe inclined cutting apparatus.

Letters lof like name and kind refer to like parts in leach of thefigures.

My invention has for its object the production of a machine that, whileintended principally for use in reducing a hedge to a uniform height andbreadth, is capable of employment as a mower; and., to this end- Itconsists iu the general construction and arrangement of the cuttingdevices so as to permit of their adaptation to the different purposesrequired, and, inl combination therewith, in the means employed forcommunicating motion to the same, as is hereinafter set forth In theannexed drawing- A represents the side pieces of the su pporting-i'ame,connected together at their ends by means ofthe crossbars B and B', thewhole resting upon an axle', Ci, having upon its ends two groundnvheelsD, with which it revolves.

Secured upon and revolving with the axle C is a gear-wheel, E, whichmeshes with and gives motion 'to a pinion,vF, secured upon a shaft, G.journaled within suitable boxes upon the nppcredge of theside pieces.

A second shaft, H, suitably journaled upon one side of the frame, andwithin an angular brace, I, sccured to and .projecting inward from theopposite side of said frame, is caused to revolve by means of a pinion,K, secured thereon, which meshes with and receives motion from agear-wheel, L, secured upon the shaft G.

The cross-bar B extends to one side somewhat beyond the wheel, and hassecured to and projecting foi-, ward from its end a metal har, M, towhich is attached a vertical wooden bar, N.

Attached to the inner face of and projecting forward from the bar N is acutter-bar, O, of usual construction, to which avertically-reciprocating motion is imparted by means of a pitman, I),pivot-ed at one end to a suitable pin, o, projecting inward from saidcutter-bar, and journaled at its opposite end upon a crankpin, which issecured within the outer face l1, attached to the end of the shaftHinged at o ne end to the rear end of the side piece A is a wooden bar,R, which, projecting upward and of a disk,

yacross the frame, is supported and rendered radially adjustable bymeans of a brace, S, havingits lower end pivoted upon the cross-bark',while its upper end is provided with a slot, s, extending lengthwiseofthe same, through which a screw, 1', passes into the bar R. v A seriesof notches is provided upon one side of the slot s, within the brace S,and furnishes a means for lockingthe bar R in position when adjusted,one of said notches being caused to embrace the shank of the screw r,and hold it firmly in place.

A second brace, T, is secured to the under side of the bar R, midwaybetween its ends, and from thence 'extending forward of the axle, isattached to the side piece A, by which means said bar is rigidly bracedfore and aft.

Secured to the upper side of and projecting forward from the 4bar R,near its outer end, is a cutter-bar, U, similar to that beforedescribed, to which motion is imparted by means of a pitman, V, pivotcdto the inner end of said cutter-bar, and journaled upon a crank* pin,which projects rearward from a disk, W, attached to the end of a shaft,X.

The shaft X is journaled within a suitable box upon the cross-bar B',and within the angular brace I, and is placed in a line with the draft.vMotion is imparted to said'shaft by means of a bevel-pinion, a, securedupon its forward end, and meshing with a corresponding pinion,71,',sccured upon the inner end of the shaft H A Suitabl seat, Y,supported by two springs y, attached to the front ends ofthe side piecesA and A', completes ihe device, which is operated as fellows:

.The bar R being adjusted tothe height designed for the hedge, themachine is driven closelyr along one side of the same, when, by means ofthe reciprocating cutter-bars O and U, the projecting shoots upon oneside and the top of said hedge are quickly and evenly trimmed.

A similar operation upon the oppositejside of' the hedge reduces it to auniform width and height.

Itis not expected that the hereinbefore-described machine will operateupon an overgrown hedge, as the- Vsize of the shoots would, in mostcases, render the 'same impracticahle; but it is proposed to commenceits use when thc hedge has attained a height of from three to four feet,after which an occasional trimming will cause said hedge to grow evenlyand compact.

'lhe peculiar upward curve of the lower end of the bar 1t, andthema-nner of its connection tc the frame in rear of the wheels, enablessaid bar, when discon.'

nected from the braces S and T, to be turned over so as to rest upon theground, in .which position it will represent the cutter-bar of anordinary reaping or mowing-machine', and enable the device to be used assuch.. Having thus fully set forth the natre and merits` of myinvention,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The arrangement of the curved bar R, hinged to the side of the fra-meA', in rear of the.wheel, in combination with the vertical and inclinedcutter-bars O and U respectively, the pitmen P and V, the. cranks h. andW, and the driving-gear, substantially as and for thepurpose specified.

In testimony that I claim-the foregoing, I have hereunto set my handthis 23d day of November, 1869.

GEO. WADDINGTON.

Witnesses:

Lnwis J. WILLHoI'r, ABBAM' KELLY.

